Although the team were doubtful about some of these updates, they chose to take risks – anticipating significant improvements elsewhere in the grid.<\/p>\n
When pre-season\u00a0 began, however, it became clear that McLaren had actually extended their advantage over the field.<\/p>\n
This trend has only continued until now, with Andrea Stella<\/a> attributing this to a consistent development trend.<\/p>\n It is common for teams to downplay their own strengths and overstate the performance of their rivals.<\/p>\n This pattern is most common during winter testing, when teams try to manage expectations and stay under the radar.<\/p>\n With that said, Andrea Stella’s comments about McLaren expecting a bigger challenger in 2025 are not entirely an exercise in humility.<\/p>\n Ferrari<\/a> were only a few points away from defeating McLaren in the constructors standings last year, finishing the season strongly after their Italy updates.<\/p>\n Red Bull<\/a>, meanwhile, still claimed the drivers’ title with Max Verstappen<\/a> – albeit with slightly worse machinery.<\/p>\n What McLaren anticipated, understandably, was that the other front-runners would make big progress over winter.<\/p>\n This would make their title aspirations this season far more difficult to attain than they have been.<\/p>\n Over the first few rounds, McLaren were bracing themselves for the prospect of a season-long battle with Verstappen for the crown.<\/p>\n Thankfully for the papaya outfit, Red Bull’s poor development has simplified things in the Championship.<\/p>\n Andrea Stella explained his team’s mentality heading into 2025:<\/p>\n “I’ve been surprised by this level of competitiveness.<\/em><\/p>\n “When last year we discussed how much effort we wanted to put in improving the 2024 car, we definitely wanted to be very ambitious.<\/em><\/p>\n “We wanted to try and clear the ‘going into race weekends and you never know who’s going to win’ situation we had last year.<\/em><\/p>\n “And we thought we needed to do a little bit more than the normal development.<\/em><\/p>\n “So how do we do that? We embraced a very aggressive approach to innovation. The MCL39 is a very innovative car.<\/em><\/p>\n “From an engineering point of view, we’ve been nervous as to whether we were actually in the condition to deliver them [certain ideas].<\/em><\/p>\n “But then when we looked at the lap times and the numbers in simulations. Actually, we thought that wouldn’t be enough.”<\/em><\/p>\n Unless there is a huge surprise, McLaren will claim both Championships this year by a comfortable margin.<\/p>\n The constructors Championship could be wrapped up several months before the season finale in Abu Dhabi, such is the MCL39’s advantage.<\/p>\n With no updates arriving elsewhere on the grid, aside from an exceptional case at Haas, McLaren ‘s supremacy should remain in tact.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2025\/08\/2226589419-1024x683.jpg\")
McLaren expected tougher resistance in 2025<\/h2>\n
Staying at the front amidst a regulation change<\/h4>\n
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